Microsoft preps 13 updates for August Patch Tuesday

Microsoft is fuelling up 13 bulletins for release next week, including an update that guards against critical flaws in Internet Explorer.

Another "critical" bulletin affects Windows server operating systems, and addresses a code-execution risk on unpatched systems. Also of note is an update restricted to newer versions of Windows (Windows 7 and Windows 2008) that tackles a potential, though difficult to exploit, code-execution risk.

A final critical update, covering flaws in Microsoft Office Visio, also merits attention. "We have seen other Visio vulnerabilities fairly recently and recommend including the software in your regular patching cycle and/or have users not using that software remove it from their systems," said Wolfgang Kandek, CTO at vulnerability management firm Qualys.

August's Patch Tuesday updates – due to be published on 9 August – conform to the recent pattern of following up a quiet patching month with a heavy load of updates. Microsoft's pre-alert advisory can be found here. ®